Snowed In
by redlily188
Summary: It's Camelot. It's cold. Arthur's grumpy, and Merlin's disrespectful. A recipe for their daily bantering? I think so. One-shot.


**So I've been snowed for the past couple of days, and we've lost power for the past two hours. Fantastic, right? **

**Well, while I was shivering by the fire thinking about how glad I am that I am not at a loss for power **_**all**_** the time, which got me thinking about how glad I lived in a time with power, and naturally my thoughts went Merlin. **

**And so popped up this fic in my mind! I really hope you like it, and reviews will help make the traumatized feeling of hours of coldness go away! (:**

Ice attacked the window, desperately trying to get into the warmth. But the ice obviously did not realize that the temperature from the inside was not so different from the outside. This, among other things, led to a very grumpy prince.

Prince Arthur shivered violently, despite being wrapped in about thirty blankets and the roaring fire before him. Why did Camelot have to get so cold in the winter? It made it impossible to do anything other than miserably shudder until the misery ended and the cold front left.

"Merlin," He hissed, "Can't you make the fire any warmer?"

The dark haired servant looked at him exasperatedly; "You've used up all the wood in Camelot!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Please, _Mer_lin, don't use such a hyperbole and just get me some firewood!"

Merlin cocked his head at him, "Well, maybe not all the wood in Camelot, but certainly the whole castle!"

"Merlin." The Prince growled.

Rolling his eyes, the servant just decided to ignore the prat. He, unlike Arthur, did not have the privilege of any blankets whatsoever. The only thing protecting him from the bitter cold was the thin layer of clothing that he always wore. Inching closer to the fire, Merlin squeezed his eyes shut. Perhaps if Arthur fell asleep…

"What are you still doing here? You're supposed to be getting me more firewood!"

"You've killed three trees already, I think that's enough!"

Arthur glared at the disrespectful servant, "You're lucky my arms are bundled up in these blankets, or I'd be throwing something very hard and large at you!"

"That wouldn't be very nice." Merlin put out.

"Whoever said I was nice?"

The young man twiddled his thumbs, "Well, Gwen might have mentioned it once or twice, but I doubt she'll think so after this."

Shooting a furious look at Merlin, Arthur pondered whether to climb out of his warm haven and teach Merlin a lesson or just yell at him. He decided on the latter.

"Merlin. You wouldn't. Dare."

"I don't know…"

"_Mer_lin."

Looking away with a grin, Merlin did not respond. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Arthur looked at Merlin.

"Are you really not going to get any firewood?"

"Arthur, I'm being serious! The rest of the castle needs some wood too! Just because you're the prince doesn't mean you can steal from everyone else! I thought you knew that."

The prince pouted, "Can't you just _make _more fire or something?"

"Oh yeah, because I can just magically make fire appear! Even if I could, I wouldn't because your father would have my head!" Merlin argued sarcastically. Little did Arthur know that Merlin was actually being truthful. But it just flew over his oblivious blonde head, as most situations that involve Merlin and magic do.

"Can you?" Arthur asked hopefully after another moment's silence.

"No," Merlin replied, aghast, "You said yourself, I'm just an idiot!"

The prince groaned, "I know, I know. I'm just really cold, okay?"

Merlin snorted.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing."

Arthur studied Merlin for a moment, "It's something."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No."

"_Mer_lin."

The dark haired boy looked at his companion, "I don't think you want to know."

"Tell me."

"Well, you're being awfully pratish. All you can do is complain about how cold you are, when you have at least thirty blankets wrapped around you, and you're closer to the fire!"

Realization hit Arthur. He wasn't the only one suffering in this situation, and certainly wasn't the coldest. Glancing down at the mound of blankets wrapped around him, Arthur sighed. Why did Merlin have to affect him like that? Now he was going to have to give up some of his covers, just because Merlin was almost his best friend. Almost.

"Here," He grumbled, throwing three blankets at Merlin, "take these."

The other man looked startled, "Really?"

"As much as it pains me, yes."

Merlin grinned as he wrapped the blankets around him, no longer shaking like a child in trouble, "Thanks."

Arthur shrugged, "It was nothing. I can't afford to have a sick servant, who would I have to muck out my stables?"

"Wait…does that mean…"

"That's right. As soon as this damned cold front passes, you're going to the stables."

Together they laughed, and for just a moment the cold was forgotten.


End file.
